Articulating locking mechanism

Abstract

An articulating locking mechanism for the locking and unlocking of a shaft member has a housing for mounting to any support surface, including an underside of a table. An operator pulls on a latch actuator to unlock the locking mechanism, thereby allowing a shaft member support to rotate within the housing between a first upright position and a second folded position. To lock the shaft member support into either position, the operator releases the latch actuator, whereby a finger on a latch member is urged by a spring into one of two grooves on the shaft member support, thereby locking the shaft member support into either its first upright position or its second folded position.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A locking device for articulatably mounting a shaft member to a support surface, the locking device comprising: 
       a housing mounted to the support surface, the housing having a cavity therein, the cavity having an upper opening and a lower opening;  
       a shaft member support rotatably mounted on a first axis within the cavity of the housing for movement between a first upright position and a second folded position, the shaft member support having first and second lock grooves thereon, with the lock grooves arcuately spaced apart about the first axis;  
       a latch member rotatably mounted on a second axis parallel to the first axis within the cavity of the housing adjacent the lower opening thereof for movement between a shaft member support engaged position and a shaft member support disengaged position, the latch member having a finger thereon formed to selectively project into the first lock groove on the shaft member support when the latch member is in its engaged position and the shaft member support is in its first upright position, and into the second lock groove on the shaft member support when the latch member is in its disengaged position and the shaft member support is in its second folded position.  
     
     
       2. The locking device of  claim 1  wherein the shaft member support has a shaft member support surface aligned opposite the first lock groove thereon. 
     
     
       3. The locking device of  claim 1  and further comprising: 
       a spring mounted in the housing adjacent the lower opening of the cavity for urging the finger of the latch member toward the shaft support;  
       a latch actuator pivotally mounted on a third axis to the housing for movement between a retracted lock position and an extended release position;  
       a recess formed on the housing for reception of the latch actuator when in its retracted lock position; and  
       a cable connecting the latch actuator to the latch member whereby movement of the latch actuator to its extended release position pulls the latch member, via the cable therebetween, against the urging of the spring to pivot the finger on the latch member out of one of the lock grooves on the shaft member support thereby allowing movement of the shaft member support relative to the housing.  
     
     
       4. The locking device of  claim 3  wherein the latch member has a first end, a second end, and a central portion therebetween, and wherein the latch member is pivotally mounted to the housing adjacent its first end, connected to the cable adjacent its second end and, has the finger formed thereon adjacent its central portion. 
     
     
       5. The locking device of  claim 4  wherein the spring contacts the latch member adjacent the central portion thereof. 
     
     
       6. The locking device of  claim 3  wherein the spring is a coil spring. 
     
     
       7. The locking device of  claim 3  wherein the third axis is perpendicular to the first axis. 
     
     
       8. The locking device of  claim 3  and further comprising: 
       an arcuate cable guide to aid in translating movement of the actuator about the third axis into movement of the latch member about the second axis.  
     
     
       9. The locking device of  claim 8  wherein the cable guide comprises: 
       a wheel rotatably mounted to the housing on a fourth axis which is parallel to the first axis.  
     
     
       10. The locking device of  claim 3  wherein the recess has a finger insert opening adjacent a free end of the latch actuator. 
     
     
       11. The locking device of  claim 3  wherein the recess on the housing is adjacent the support surface. 
     
     
       12. The locking device of  claim 1  wherein the shaft member support has in part a spherical outer surface with the first and second grooves defined thereon. 
     
     
       13. The locking device of  claim 1  wherein the housing is generally circular in cross-section along a plane parallel to the support surface. 
     
     
       14. The locking device of  claim 1  wherein the shaft member support is generally circular in cross-section along a plane parallel to the support surface. 
     
     
       15. The locking device of  claim 1  wherein the cavity is generally circular in cross-section along a plane parallel to the support surface. 
     
     
       16. The locking device of  claim 1  wherein, in use, the first axis is a horizontal axis. 
     
     
       17. The locking device of  claim 1 , wherein the housing has an outer face thereon spaced from the support surface, and further comprising: 
       a layer of resilient material mounted on the outer face of the housing.